'96 EJ22E - It May Be Bullet Proof, But It Ain't Idiot Proof

[SubieSue]

Hey There Everyone,

New to the Forum and in need of some expert advise and assistance.

Vehicle in Question: 1996 Legacy L Wagon, 2.2L, Automatic Transmission, AWD, 233,000 KM

Problem in Question: EJ22E Engine Swap

I am beginning to feel like Subaru has tied both my arms behind my back and thrown me in the deep end of the pool.

I am trying to determine if I have any other possible Engine options to replace the one that my Teenage son, in his infinite wisdom, blew up in his '96 Legacy Wagon. It had a 2.2 with an Automatic Transmission and it is my understanding, from Subaru and the 666 Auto Recyclers I've spoken with, that this particular engine is unique in the fact that I must replace it with only another '96 2.2 and that even using the 2.2 out of Impreza is going to give me grief.

I fully, understand that with enough time and money anything is possible - both time and money being the operative words here. As I have neither the time for this to be anything other than a plug and play swap, nor the patience to listen to his belly aching about how long it is taking and the cost of the replacement engine only, as he pays no labour costs.

So my question is this, do I have to use only a '96 Legacy EJ22E or can I easily and painlessly swap in another EJ22E from either any year Legacy or Impreza?

Please consider that I have read the 96 2.2 legacy to 01 2.5rs swap post https://sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=22818 and as much fun as it was doing the Head Gasket on the Little Subie this Spring, I don't want to go there again.

Any and all help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you kindly.

[harrymaneuvers]

First you need to state what market car you have... is it USDM CDM or JDM...

I am pretty sure that the 2.2L engine only came in a Phase 1 and Phase 2... Phase 1 being 95-98 and the Phase 2 being 99-03 (03 I think).

Even then... I think that you can swap a Phase 2 for a Phase 1...


Someone else please chime in...

[anothernord]

Any Phase I engine will do. Basically, find an EJ22 or EJ25 with the old-style coil pack (the one with three wires), and it will plop in and run.

I think you should make your son do the swap, he'll gain a ton of experience, an appreciation for what he has, and be less likely to abuse it. This is about as simple as engine swaps get; just pull out the old, put in the new, and plug it in.

[lord flashheart]

^what anothernord said is correct. you need any 96-98 Ej22. because the pre-96 use dual port exhaust. other than that... they are the same. i rebuild engines for a living, specalizing in subarus. trust me there is no difference in them as long as u keep the same phase.

[SubieSue]

Thank you Gentlemen for your quick replies, they are greatly appreciated.


First you need to state what market car you have... is it USDM CDM or JDM...I do so apologize for not stating this first. Not necessarily knowing what exactly the acronyms stand for, please excuse my ignorance and accept the answer of LHD Canadian made vehicle.


Any Phase I engine will do. This is about as simple as engine swaps get.That is what I originally thought over the weekend, as this is not my first engine swap, or rebuild - first for Subaru tho. Until I spoke with a former coworker at Subaru and he told me I had to use only a '96, because of the Y pipe and something to do with intake, tho I am not recalling exactly what it was and I do so apologize for it slipping my mind right now. I know that the ABS unit is quite unique and specialized for the '96 and without taking much more of his valuable time took what he said as truth. And then later when I hit the wall with the Recyclers chiming in on '96 ONLY and Good Luck as there are none available in my Province, I decided to come here to find out what's up.


I think you should make your son do the swap, he'll gain a ton of experience, an appreciation for what he has, and be less likely to abuse it.Yup! He will be helping with the swap, for sure. Tho in his defense, the Head Gasket was not his fault, that was the last Canknucklehead that owned it using it as a "Field Car" with no rad and as for the blown engine, he was faithfully monitoring his oil level and if that double knock came instantaneously with the Oil Light coming on, I'm not thinking he's too much to blame.

As luck would have it I received an email this morning from my buddy at the Boneyard and he has located a complete '96 engine with less than 40,000 Km on it, just as hop, skip and a jump away. Obviously I plan on snapping that badgirl up.

Again, thank you all, ever so much for your input and assistance, tho I am still unclear as to exactly why, everyone is stating it MUST be a '96 only.

[Perdue]

Maybe they are referring to when the EJ22 went from a dual-port exhaust manifold to a single-port exhaust manifold, but even then, previous years should work. The parts and so forth are the same to my knowledge. I think you owe your buddy a beer, though. Just saying.

[anothernord]

Some of the years of engine did/didn't come with EGR; thats probably another discrepancy. You can always swap intake manifolds if that's the case, as well as exhaust manifolds of they're dual or single ports. But in sticking with your mantra to just make it work, an exact replacement would be best.

[Reason]

If its just the headgasket and your heads are fine you can swap in any EJ series block.

[SubieSue]

I think you owe your buddy a beer, though. Just saying.To say the least Perdue, tho, we both have been crying in our beer this evening.

I must have some really bad ju-ju happening, because Karma bite me large today when I showed up to pick up that Engine - they sold it to someone else a half hour earlier. The chances of that are just Astrofreakingnomical.

Reason - It's not the Head Gasket. I haven't tore down the Engine, but the noise and lack of compression in Cylinder 4 leads me to believe it's the Rod Bearings. And I'm thinking that an Engine swap is more cost/time effective than a rebuilt. Tho at this point, maybe just another car altogether.

Anothernord - The Mantra works for many reasons, first and foremost as of today, I am up to my ya ya's in snow and I do not have the luxury of pushing or moving the Hot Rods out of the Garage to work in there. So, yes an exact replacement makes it quick and easy, without freezing or having to mickey mouse it together in the cold, as I'm kinda flying blind on this one.

Thanks, once again, everyone for the advise and assistance.

[Wiscon_Mark]

FWIW, they (Subaru and the 666 recyclers) have a point. Pre-96 2.2L engines had dual port exhaust, pre-95 engines weren't OBDII, and post 96 engines had a different head/valve configuration with a different compression ratio. So for the least amount of headache, a 96 engine would be the only one that would swap in and out, no headaches. That being said, any Subaru engine could work, it's just about how much tinkering/wiring you'd want to do. The ideal setup would be to match the engine and the ECU, anything OBDII (so 95+) should wire up OK (although I'm unsure of the EGR, I think all OBDII vehicles have it, newer engines may have more elements to their systems).

The exhaust port problem is really the least of your worries - it's easy enough to find dual port exhaust headers, and they'll bolt right up on the catalytic converter end. If you're sure about the problem being in the shortblock itself, you could probably swap the block with any 90-98 2.2L and be OK. The differences were all in the heads & intake manifolds.

I'm just waiting for Chuck to come in and tell me what I said was completely wrong :lol: But this is all stuff I've read repeatedly over the years, hopefully I wasn't mislead.

[Dead91silvia]

96 is a funky year... They do say its a one year only interchange, but like what the others have said, you can make any EJ motor fit...

If it was me, I would look for another EJ22. If the exhaust posts are different, the down pipe can be changed out no problem! But most 96-98 EJ22's will work. You might need to swap some sensors, or the exhaust, but it makes shopping for a motor much easier!

[SubieSue]

Thanks for your valuable input Wiscon_Mark and Dead91silvia.

I am wondering if '96 being funky would an Impreza engine work, as it too falls into that funky year only interchangeability. In theory knowing parts wise, with the exception of the ECU wiring harness, they match up exactly to the Legacy it should be the closest to a plug and play there is - right?

Or will I run into problems with the ECU because of the AWD or is that even an issue?

The reason I ask is all 4 of the '97 to '98 engines have really high mileage, over 280,000Kms, which is not really an issue for the EJ22 as they go forever and even higher price tags. However, the '96 Impreza engine only had something like 90,000Kms on it, had excellent compression, was tested when they scraped the car and was about 300 bones. And lets be honest here, I'm sure anyone in my work boots would want something with low mileage and a low price tag - right?

Thanks again ever so much for all the valuable information and assistance, it is greatly appreciated.

[Dead91silvia]

I think the only different with the Impreza motor is the intake manifold and sensors, maybe exhaust ports. One of the other guys might know more.

I had a early 97 Outback with a 96 motor in it. I got a 97 motor, bolted it in and had no problems. Both were EJ25 N/A motors but direct bolt in's. I havent messed with Impreza motors, but I cant see Subaru make them not a bolt in. ECU might be different, but I doubt it...

Just use your complete intake assembly, sensors (if they are different), and you should be good... Note, I said should be... haha

[Dead91silvia]

Oh, I have heard of a guy in my area that does motor swaps... He does pre 96 EJ22 swaps into 96+ cars with 2.5's... A little crazy if you ask me, but he says they work fine. I'm just not sure what all he does to them to make them work...

[Wiscon_Mark]

I don't see why a 96 Impreza EJ22 would be any different from the Legacy.

The year that they were dramatically different was 95 when the Legacy was OBDII while the Impreza was still OBDI for half a year. In 96 (the first official year of OBDII) everything should've lined up from that standpoint. I've never read anything else saying that they're any different.

[Dead91silvia]

My 98 Legacy motor had 2 different sensors and one other part, including the intake, that is completely different then my Forester motor. However, you can change them to all the parts you need for your car.

[lord flashheart]

95 is the funky year. the 95 has a one year only ECU and yada yada yada.

[subie/legacy]

95 ej22 should work just fine. The exhaust manifold will need to be dual port, but easy to swap if the motor is already out. Yours being auto I believe you have egr, while 5spd 95-96 have no egr